City University of New York
Section 211 Waivers – Policy and Process
Retirees of most public agencies who are under the age of 65, and are hired or re-hired by a public agency, cannot earn more than $30,000 in a calendar year and continue to receive pension payments/distributions unless they are granted a waiver. This is a requirement under New York State Retirement and Social Security Law (Article 7, Sections 210 – 212). Section 211 of this law was recently amended and covers the waiver requirements.
In order to receive a waiver:
· Retiree must meet the minimum stated requirements for the position.
· Retiree cannot be employed in a similar or same position for a period of one year following retirement.
· The agency must have a detailed plan to fill the position on a permanent basis.
· The hiring agency must have an urgent need to fill the position on a non-permanent basis as a result of an unplanned and unexpected vacancy where sufficient time is not available to recruit a qualified individual; or have undertaken extensive recruitment efforts and found that no non-retiree was qualified and available to take the position. In the latter case, the search must include advertising in at least two sources.
· The hiring agency must attest that employment of the retiree is in the best interests of the government service.
The maximum waiver duration is two years. The earliest effective date of a waiver is the date of employment offer (i.e., once the search officially ends). A waiver request cannot be retroactive to a prior year. Colleges may employ the retiree while a waiver request is being processed. Tenure, permanency, or 13.3(b)/CCE status does not guarantee a waiver will be granted.
The major changes in the law prohibit The University from employing retirees in a similar or same position for a period of one year after retirement. In addition, The University must have a detailed plan to fill the position on a permanent basis.
For questions relating to the changes in University policy and process for 211 waivers, contact Raj Singh at 212-794-5345.
Waiver Applications
It is the retiree’s responsibility to notify his/her College of retirement and earnings status and request a waiver. College Human Resources departments manage the search process and submit waiver applications to HROS. Applications must be submitted to HROS no later than one month
For Classified Appointments (including Classified Managerial) Human Resources Operations and Systems (HROS) screens and forwards requests to New York City’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS). The application must be submitted with a DP-68 form (attachment I). DCAS examines requests and approves or denies the waiver. DCAS notifies HROS, which forwards this information to the College. If approved, College enters the waiver action in the Chancellor’s University Report. DCAS sends copies of approval/denial letters to retirees and their pension systems.
For Instructional and ECP Appointments, the Senior University Director, HROS reviews and approves waivers on behalf of the Vice Chancellor for Human Resources Management. The application must be submitted with a CUNY waiver request form (attachment II). Waiver applications may be returned with questions or requests for information. If approved, College enters the waiver action in the Chancellor’s University Report. Following the Board meeting date, the Secretary to the Board of Trustees approves and signs the waiver and returns it to HROS, which notifies the College.
For all Waivers, Colleges must provide:
Request Form / Waiver Under Section 211 form, with all requested information and signatures. For Classified Appointments, DP-68 (attachment I). For Instructional and ECP Appointments, CUNY Waiver Request (attachment II).Cover Letter / Summarize need for position, search effort, disposition of other applicants, important qualifications of applicant, and other relevant information, such as the impact of not selecting the retiree, or establish a need to fill the position because of an unexpected vacancy.
Position Vacancy Notice / Position Vacancy Notice for the search.
Affirmative Action Recruitment Plan / List advertising sources, number of finalists, and final certification. Should include number of candidates who applied, number screened out, number interviewed, and reason for non-selection of finalists.
Recruitment Plan for Permanent Appointment / Detail plan to fill the position on a permanent basis.
Copies of Position Advertisements / Minimum of two different external advertisements reaching as broad a base as possible. The advertisement dates and publication/source must be listed. The CUNY web site counts as one advertising source.
Retiree’s Resume/CV / To establish retiree meets minimum requirements. Retiree has not been employed in similar or same position for one year following retirement.
Please review all information for accuracy, particularly title, salary, and appointment dates. The position for which the waiver is requested must match the title of the position for which the search was performed (i.e., PVN). The employee must be below the age of 65 and have earnings exceeding the annual limit. The start date must be no earlier than the date of the completion of the search (i.e., date of employment offer).
Send waiver requests to the Senior University Director, HROS. Electronic submission is preferred, addressed to: . One method is to assemble documents into a single Adobe Acrobat/PDF file (scanning paper documents as needed). Otherwise, documents may be mailed to HROS.
All applications are reviewed when received. Applications for Classified employees are forwarded by HROS to DCAS and review time varies, but is generally within one month. Colleges may employ the applicant pending waiver approval.
Waivers are subject to audit by City and State agencies, and to Freedom of Information Act requests. The annual earnings limit is periodically reviewed and revised by the State.
Expiration of Waivers
Employees are responsible for tracking the expiration of their waivers, and requesting a new waiver if needed. DCAS notifies Classified staff, their pension systems and CUNY approximately one month before waivers expire. For Instructional staff, HR Directors are asked to track expiration dates.
Colleges must notify employees when the waiver is no longer in effect. Employees must notify their pension system upon expiration of a waiver to adjust payments/distributions once they earn more than the annual limit. Amounts earned during the waiver’s effective period do not count toward the limit. Employees may continue in their positions provided they adjust their pension distributions. Also, waiver status has no impact on tenure/permanency status.
For More Information
NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) guidelines:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcas/html/resources/200_8.shtml
Search engine for consolidated laws of New York State (for text of Article 7, Section 211 of the New York State Retirement and Social Security Law):
http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menugetf.cgi?COMMONQUERY=LAWS
1
Request for Section 211 Waiver
CUNY Version 1.6 October 2008.